Eye test service system

ABSTRACT

An eye test service system comprising an eye test service apparatus for obtaining eye test data of an objective eye of a service user, connected to a database system through a communication line, and provided at an eye test service equipment, the database system having an eye test data memorizing unit configured to memorize eye test data and an eyeglass frame memory unit for memorizing eyeglass frame information data; an issue apparatus provided at the eye test service apparatus or the database system for issuing a user ID for specifying the user and a user password for calling out a photographed facial picture; and a web server capable of showing the eye test data, and superimposing a selected facial picture with a selected eyeglass frame when the service user inputs the user ID and password by using a terminal to access the database system.

This application is a division of U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/879,704, filed Jun. 12, 2001.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a database constructing system in whichdata for associating personal goods to wear or carry such as handbag,accessories, eyeglass frame and shoes which a person likes, with thepersonal characteristics can be collected to construct database, aneyeglass frame selecting service system, an eye test service system inwhich the person can try wearing an eyeglass frame at his/her own home,and a program product thereof.

2. Description of the Related Art

Conventionally, at the optician where a customer visits, a clerkrecommends an eyeglass frame that the customer seems to like, orrecommends an eyeglass frame that seems to suit the customer, but thereis a customer who does not always want to be recommended by the clerk.

Such customer looks into a showcase of eyeglass lens, and selects asuitable eyeglass frame, but the eyeglass frame shown in the showcase isnot necessarily preferable for the customer.

In such a case, if the eyeglass frame which seems to suit the customeror the eyeglass frame which the customer seems to like, can beautomatically picked up, for the customer the time required forselecting the eyeglass frame is shortened, and for the optician theclerk needs not to receive the customer excessively. Also, when manycustomers visit the optician, there is a limit for service that oneclerk can afford to several customers, but if the eyeglass frame thatthe customer seems to like can be automatically picked up, it can beexpected that the service for the customer be improved.

In order to accomplish the above-mentioned demand, conventionally, theoptician prepares a customer-managing database, but, since the number ofindividuals is limited, it was insufficient for grasping general trendof facial type and eyeglass frame. Also, since the database is preparedby manual input, much labor is required, and there was a possibility ofmaking the input mistake. This kind of problem is not limited to theoptician, and exists in a store or a specialty store selling handbag,shoes, or accessories.

Also, the optician allows the visited customer to select the eyeglassframe, shows face of the customer wearing the eyeglasses by a mirror,allows the customer to order favorite eyeglass frame, inserts eyeglasslenses to the eyeglass frame, and sells the eyeglasses to the customer,but in the conventional selling system of the optician, unless thecustomer visits the optician personally, the customer cannot try fittingthe eyeglass frame, and it is inconvenient for the customer who has notime.

Today when the Internet has been developed and advanced, if the systemin which the optician opens a homepage, a person accepts the homepage ona monitor screen of a personal computer at his/her own home, and selectsan eyeglass frame on the monitor screen, and the eyeglass frame issynthesized with a facial picture can be constructed, the person havingthe personal computer can try wearing the eyeglass frame at his/her ownhome, and it is convenient that time for visiting the opticianpersonally is saved. Also, it is preferable that the person can selectthe eyeglass frame at his/her own home until he/her finds the favoriteeyeglass frame.

However, in the above described system, since an eye test data isomitted, if the eye test data can be obtained by the customer, the morecertain selection of the eyeglass frame can be preferably performed. Inthis point of view, the construction of an eye test service equipmentsuch as short-sightedness, has been suggested.

In automated eye test service equipment, it may be supposed that a userbeing served the eye test service may perform a series of operationsfrom the eye test to selection of the eyeglass frame, but it is afraidthat taking too long time to select the eyeglass frame and that waitingtime of a next user who will use the eye test service becomes longer,thereby causing difficulty to the eye test service itself.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to provide a databaseconstructing system in which the information on a plurality of personscan be automatically collected without being limited to a customer tovisit optician, and the database can be constructed by associating thepersonal goods to wear or carry that the person likes with the personalcharacteristics.

Further, another object of the present invention is to provide to aneyeglass frame selecting service system in which the eyeglass framewhich seems to suit a customer or the eyeglass frame which the customerseems to like is automatically picked up and shown, and a programproduct thereof.

In addition, another object of the present invention is to provide aneye test service system in which the selection of the eyeglass frame canbe performed until a customer finds the favorite eyeglass frame withoutcausing difficulty to the eye test service itself.

In order to attain the above objects, the database constructing systemdescribed in a first aspect of the present invention comprises: a webserver for showing information on personal goods to wear or carry; astatistical analyzing means for dividing a personal body picture intocomponent to classify them into a type of every component andstatistically analyzing a relationship between the type of everycomponent and selected personal goods to wear or carry in order tocollect data for associating the personal body characteristics with theselected personal goods to wear or carry on the basis of the personalbody picture and the information on the personal goods to wear or carryselected by the person transmitted to the web server by using a webbrowser; and a memory means for associating and preserving theinformation on type of every component and the selected personal goodsto wear or carry.

According to the invention described in the first aspect, since bodilycharacteristics of the person accessing the homepage of the personalgoods to wear or carry store, and the type of personal goods to wear orcarry which the person likes are associated and classified, the databaseassociating the personal bodily characteristics with a trend of the typeof personal goods to wear or carry which the person likes can beautomatically and efficiently constructed.

The database constructing system described in a second aspect of thepresent invention comprises: a web server for showing information oneyeglass frame; a statistical analyzing means for dividing a personalfacial picture into component to classify them into a type of everyfacial component and statistically analyzing a relationship between thetype of every facial component and the selected eyeglass frame in orderto collect data for associating the personal facial type with theselected eyeglass frame on the basis of the personal facial picture andthe information on the eyeglass frame selected by the person transmittedto the web server by using a web browser; and a memory means forassociating and preserving the information on type of every facialcomponent and the selected eyeglass frame.

According to the invention described in the second aspect, since afacial type of the person accessing the homepage of the optician and atype of the eyeglass frame which the person likes are associated andclassified, the database associating a type of the personal facialcomponent with a trend of the type of the eyeglass frame which theperson likes can be automatically and efficiently constructed.

In the database constructing system described in a third aspect of thepresent invention, the statistical analyzing means divides automaticallythe personal facial picture into the component to classify them into atype of every facial component, and analyzes statistically arelationship between the type of every facial component and the selectedeyeglass frame.

The database constructing system described in a fourth aspect of thepresent invention further comprises a display means for displaying therelationship between the type of every facial component and the selectedeyeglass frame by a statistical display method, the association betweenthe type of every facial component and the selected eyeglass frame beingperformed by manual input.

According to the invention described in the fourth aspect, since thedisplaying means is included, the relationship between the type of everyfacial component and the selected eyeglass frame can be distributivelydisplayed in detail, and the trend that the person desires can bevisually and easily grasped.

In the database constructing system described in a fifth aspect of thepresent invention, the statistical analyzing means has an extractingmeans for extracting the facial component from the facial picture.

According to the invention described in the fifth aspect, since theextracting means for extracting the facial component from the facialpicture is included, the facial component can be automaticallyextracted, and a large amount of database can be more effectivelyconstructed.

In the database constructing system described in a sixth aspect of thepresent invention, the facial component is selected from facial contour,hair, facial color, eyes, eyebrows, nose, ears, mouth and jaw.

In the database constructing system described in a seventh aspect of thepresent invention, at least age and gender are transmitted together withthe facial picture to be reflected to the database construction.

In the database constructing system described in an eighth aspect of thepresent invention, racial information is transmitted together with thefacial picture to be reflected to the database construction.

In the database constructing system in a ninth aspect of the presentinvention, the selected eyeglass frame is subdivided into anycombination of the components such as shape, color, material, maker nameand designer name to be associated with the type of facial component.

According to the invention described in the ninth aspect, since theselected eyeglass frame is subdivided into any combination of thecomponents such as shape, color, material, maker name and designer name,each component of eyeglass frame can be associated with the type of thefacial component to be classified.

In the database constructing system described in a tenth aspect of thepresent invention, the preference degree for the former selectedeyeglass frame is determined on the basis of the time interval betweenthe former selected eyeglass frame and the latter selected eyeglassframe.

According to the invention described in the tenth aspect, since thepreference degree for the eyeglass frame is determined on the basis ofthe time for selecting the eyeglass frame, the degree that the personlikes the selected eyeglass frame can be easily and quantitativelydetermined.

In the database constructing system described in an eleventh aspect ofthe present invention, when an eyeglass frame different from the formerselected eyeglass frame is selected, and then, the same eyeglass frameas the former selected eyeglass frame is selected again, the preferencedegree for the selected eyeglass frame is determined considering thatthe former selected eyeglass frame is suitable.

According to the invention described in the eleventh aspect, since thepreference degree for the eyeglass frame is determined considering thatonce more selected eyeglass frame is favorite, it can be easily andquantitatively determined how much the person likes the eyeglass frame.

The database constructing system described in a twelfth aspect of theinvention comprise: a web server for showing information on eyeglassframe; a statistical analyzing means for dividing a personal facialpicture into component to extract facial characteristics andstatistically analyzing a relationship between the facialcharacteristics and the selected eyeglass frame in order to collect datafor associating the personal facial characteristics with the selectedeyeglass frame on the basis of the personal facial picture and theinformation on the eyeglass frame selected by the person transmitted tothe web server by using a web browser; and a memory means forassociating and preserving the information on facial characteristics andthe selected eyeglass frame.

According to the invention described in the twelfth aspect, since thefacial characteristic portion of the person accessing the homepage ofthe optician and the type of eyeglass frame which the person likes areassociated and classified, though process of a large amount of data orthe data preservation is not performed, the database associating thepersonal facial characteristics with a trend of the type of eyeglassframe which the person likes can be automatically and efficientlyconstructed.

The program product described in a thirteenth aspect of the presentinvention comprises: a program for executing an extracting step forextracting facial component from a facial picture; a program forexecuting a step for comparing the facial component with a predetermineddetermining reference to classify every type of the component on thebasis of the executed result of the extracting program; a program forexecuting a statistical analyzing step for statistically analyzing arelationship between the component classified by type and the selectedeyeglass frame; and a program for executing a preserving step forpreserving the statistical analyzing result.

The eyeglass frame selecting service system described in a fourteenthaspect of the present invention comprises: a memory means for dividinginformation on a facial component to memorize eyeglass frame informationassociated with a type of every component; an extracting means forextracting the facial component from a customer's facial picture; aselecting means for selecting an eyeglass frame memorized in the memorymeans on the basis of the extracted result of the extracting means; anda showing means for showing the selected eyeglass frame.

The eyeglass frame selecting service system described in a fifteenthaspect of the present invention further comprises an associating meansfor dividing the facial component to associate a type of every componentwith the information on the eyeglass frame.

In the eyeglass frame selecting service system described in a sixteenthaspect of the present invention, the facial component is selected fromfacial contour, eyebrows, hair, eyes, nose, ears, mouth, jaw and color.

In the eyeglass frame selecting service system described in aseventeenth aspect of the present invention, the showing means is aserver apparatus for generating a homepage, the server apparatus has asynthesizing means for synthesizing the selected eyeglass frame with thefacial picture when a customer transmits the facial picture and accessesthe server apparatus in order to order the eyeglass frame by using theInternet, and the showing means transmits the synthesized picture to thecustomer.

The eyeglass frame selecting service system described in an eighteenthaspect of the present invention further comprises a photographing meansfor photographing a face, the eyeglass frame being selected and shown onthe basis of a facial picture photographed by the photographing meanswhen a customer visits optician.

In the eyeglass frame selecting service system described in a nineteenthaspect of the present invention, the face of the customer whose facialpicture is registered is divided into the component, an eyeglass frameassociated with a type of every facial component being synthesized withthe facial picture, the facial picture synthesized with the eyeglassframe being attached to an electronic mail to be transmitted to thecustomer.

The eyeglass frame selecting service system described in a twentiethaspect of the present invention comprises: a memory means for preservingeyeglass flame information associated with the facial characteristicinformation; an extracting means for extracting the facialcharacteristics from a customer's facial picture; a selecting means forselecting an eyeglass frame memorized in the memory means on the basisof the extracted result of the extracting means; and a showing means forshowing the selected eyeglass frame.

The program product for eyeglass frame selecting service described in atwenty-first aspect of the present invention comprising: a program forexecuting an extracting step for extracting a facial component from acustomer's facial picture; a program for executing a selecting step forselecting an eyeglass frame associated with facial characteristics froma memory means on the basis of the executed result of the extractingprogram; and a program for executing a showing step for showing theeyeglass frame selected by executing the selecting program.

In the eye test service system described in a twenty-second aspect ofthe present invention, an eye test service apparatus having aphotographing camera which photographs a facial picture of a user of aneye test service and obtaining eye test data of an objective eye of theservice user and further connected to a database system through acommunication line is provided at an eye test service equipment; and anissue apparatus for issuing a user ID for specifying the user and a userpassword for calling out the photographed facial picture is provided atthe eye test service apparatus or the database system, the databasesystem being provided with an eye test data memory means for preservingthe eye test data, a memory means for preserving the information onfacial picture, and a web server for showing the facial picture when theservice user inputs the user ID and the user password by using aterminal to access the database system.

In the eye test service system described in a twenty-third aspect of thepresent invention, the database system is provided with an eyeglassframe data memory means, and the web server is provided with a selectingmeans for selecting the eyeglass frame and a picture synthesizing meansfor synthesizing the selected eyeglass frame with a facial picture.

In the eye test service system described in a twenty-fourth aspect ofthe present invention, the issue apparatus issues the user ID and theuser password on the basis of the input of the electronic mail addressof the service user.

In the eye test service system described in a twenty-fifth aspect of thepresent invention, an eye test service apparatus having a photographingcamera which photographs a facial picture of a user of an eye testservice and obtaining eye test data of an objective eye of the serviceuser and further connected to a database system through a communicationline is provided at an eye test service equipment; and an issueapparatus for issuing a user ID for specifying the user and atransmitting means for transmitting the facial picture to a terminal ofthe service user is provided at the eye test service apparatus or thedatabase system, the database system being provided with an eye testdata memory means for preserving the eye test data, and a web serverhaving an eyeglass frame showing means for showing an eyeglass framewhen the service user inputs the user ID by using the terminal to accessthe database system, the terminal being provided with a picturesynthesizing means for synthesizing the selected eyeglass frame with thefacial picture to display the synthesized picture.

In the eye test service system described in a twenty-sixth aspect of thepresent invention, the transmitting means transmits the facial pictureto the terminal on the basis of the input of an electronic mail address.

The database constructing system for eyeglasses described in atwenty-seventh aspect of the present invention comprises: a web serverfor showing information on eyeglass frame and items for inputtingpersonal characteristic portion; a statistical analyzing means forcollecting data for associating the personal characteristics with theselected eyeglass frame and statistically analyzing a relationshipbetween the personal characteristics and the selected eyeglass frame bythe data based on the input items of the personal characteristic portiontransmitted to the web server by using a web browser and the informationon the eyeglass frame selected by the person; and a memory means forassociating and preserving the information on personal characteristicswith the selected eyeglass frame.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above objects, other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will be better understood from the following description takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a concept view of a database constructing system foreyeglasses relating to a first embodiment;

FIG. 2(a) is an explanatory view showing the display state of themonitor screen of the personal computer relating to the firstembodiment, and shows the state which a plurality of eyeglass frames aredisplayed;

FIG. 2(b) is an explanatory view showing the display state of themonitor screen of the personal computer relating to the firstembodiment, and shows the monitor screen displaying the picture that theselected eyeglass frame is synthesized with a facial picture;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart for explaining the database constructing sequenceof the database constructing system for eyeglasses relating to the firstembodiment;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart explaining an example of the statisticalanalyzing sequence of the statistical analyzing means relating to thefirst embodiment;

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view schematically explaining the associationof the component of the facial picture statistically analyzed by astatistical analyzing means with the selected eyeglass frame;

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of the display in the statistical displaymethod of the database constructing system for eyeglasses relating tothe first embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a flow chart for explaining another example in the databaseconstructing sequence of the database constructing system for eyeglassesrelating to the first embodiment;

FIG. 8 illustrates the eyeglass frame displayed on the monitor screen ofthe personal computer accessed the homepage of the optician and themodel's facial picture;

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of the flow chart of the eyeglass frameselecting service system relating to a second embodiment;

FIG. 10 illustrates another example of the flow chart of the eyeglassframe selecting service system relating to the second embodiment;

FIG. 11 illustrates an example of the selected frame displayed on themonitor screen;

FIG. 12 illustrates an example of the synthesized picture displayed onthe monitor screen;

FIG. 13 is a concept view of the eye test service system relating to athird embodiment;

FIG. 14(a) is an explanatory view showing the display state of themonitor screen of the personal computer relating to the thirdembodiment, and shows the state which a plurality of eyeglass frames aredisplayed;

FIG. 14(b) is an explanatory view showing the display state of themonitor screen of the personal computer relating to the thirdembodiment, and shows the state that the facial picture inputted to thepersonal computer is displayed;

FIG. 14(c) is an explanatory view showing the display state of themonitor screen of the personal computer relating to the thirdembodiment, and shows the monitor screen on which the eyeglass frame issynthesized with the facial picture to display the synthesized picture;

FIG. 15 illustrates the eyeglass frame displayed on the monitor screenof the personal computer accessed the homepage of the optician and themodel's facial picture;

FIG. 16 is a schematic view for explaining a scene of the eye testservice equipment relating to the third embodiment;

FIG. 17 is an explanatory view of the rough alignment using the eye testservice apparatus of the eye test service system relating to the thirdembodiment;

FIG. 18 illustrates an example of the menu screen of the eye testservice system relating to the third embodiment;

FIG. 19 illustrates an example of the eye test service selecting screenin the eye test service system relating to the third embodiment;

FIG. 20 illustrates the display state of the facial picture in the eyetest service system relating to the third embodiment;

FIG. 21 illustrates an example of the eyeglass lens selecting screen inthe eye test service system relating to the third embodiment;

FIG. 22 illustrates an example of the eyeglass frame selecting screen inthe eye test service system relating to the third embodiment; and

FIG. 23 shows the state that the selected eyeglass frame is synthesizedwith the facial picture to display the synthesized picture.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS First Embodiment

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 is a personal computer which a personpossesses, 2 is a monitor, 3 is a keyboard, and 4 is a mouse. Thepersonal computer 1 is connected to the Internet 6 through a provider 5.

Also, 7 is an optician, the optician 7 is provided with a customermanaging database server 8, a facial picture information database server9, an eyeglass frame information database server 10, a web server 11,and a television camera 12. The respective servers 8-11 are connected byLAN, and the television camera 12 is connected to the facial pictureinformation database server 9.

The web server 11 is connected to the Internet 6. At the optician 7, theeyeglass frame information is provided from an eyeglass framemanufacturing maker 13 through the Internet 6, and the eyeglass frameinformation is successively memorized in the eyeglass frame informationdatabase server 10 of the optician 7.

The optician 7 opens a homepage, and when a person accesses the homepageof the optician 7 and selects the eyeglass frame fitting corner usingthe web browser of the personal computer 1, the eyeglass frame fittingcorner at the homepage of “XX optician” is displayed on a screen 2A ofthe monitor 2, for example, as shown in FIG. 2(a), and when theselective screen of an eyeglass frame 14 is specified, the screen ischanged, and a plurality of eyeglass frames 14 are displayed on themonitor screen 2A.

There may be employed the composition that on the previous screen todirectly display the eyeglass frame 14 on the monitor screen 2A, thescreen for inputting material, shape, size, color, maker name, designername and the like of the eyeglass frame is displayed, and then, thescreen is changed to the selective screen of the eyeglass frame 14 afterthe material, the shape, the size, the frame color, the maker name andthe like are inputted.

Also, the input of the eyeglass frame color may be performed not on thisscreen but on the other screen. Also, in case where the customer wantsto find the eyeglass frames having different color among the selectedeyeglass frames, it may be searched and displayed what color of theeyeglass frames exist.

Here, the eyeglass frame information database server 10 is provided atthe optician 7, but the eyeglass frame information database server 10 isprovided at the eyeglass frame manufacturing maker 13, and the eyeglassframe information database server 10 of the eyeglass frame manufacturingmaker 13 is linked to the homepage which the optician 7 opens, so thatthe eyeglass frame information may be displayed on the monitor screen2A.

The picture synthesis is performed in the server side of the optician 7,and the synthesized picture is transmitted to the personal computer 1.

Namely, as shown in FIG. 3, when the customer accesses the homepage ofthe optician 7 through the personal computer 1 (S. 1), the screen ischanged to the facial picture inputting screen (S. 2), and when thefacial picture is inputted, the screen is changed to the eyeglass frameselecting screen (S. 3), and when the eyeglass frame 14 is selected onthe eyeglass frame selecting screen, the screen is changed to thepicture synthesis agreeing screen (S. 4), here, the personal informationsuch as address, name, age, telephone number, password, etc. is inputted(S. 5), and when the input is finished (S. 6), the upload of the facialpicture is performed (S. 7).

At the optician 7, the selected eyeglass frame 14 is synthesized withthe facial picture 15 by the selected eyeglass frame 14 and the uploadedfacial picture 15 at the web server 11 (S. 8). And, when the password isinputted from the personal computer 1 (S. 9), the facial picture 15wearing the selected eyeglass frame 14 is displayed on the monitorscreen 2A, as shown in FIG. 2(b).

The optician is connected to an eyeglass database server 21 forassociating a facial component 22 c of a person (a customer reserve oran eyeglass frame interested person) or personal information 22 b suchas age, sex, etc. with the selected eyeglass frame 14 to memorize theinformation as a memory means, a personal database server 22 forpreserving a personal facial picture 22 a or the personal information 22b, and a statistical analyzing means 24 for statistically analyzing arelationship between the personal facial component 22 c or the personalinformation 22 b and the selected eyeglass frame 14. The statisticalanalyzing means 24 comprises an extracting means 24 a for extracting thepersonal facial component 22 c from the facial picture 22 a, and isconnected to a hard disk 23 as a temporary memory means for temporarilypreserving a large amount of data in the statistical analyzing process.

The facial picture 22 a transmitted from the personal computer 1 ispreserved in the personal database server 22. The statistical analyzingmeans 24 extracts the facial picture 22 a preserved in the personaldatabase server 22, statistically analyzes the picture according to theflow chart shown in FIG. 4, associates a type of every facial component22 c with the selected eyeglass frame 14, and preserves the result inthe eyeglass database server 21. When the statistical analysis isperformed, since a large amount of information needs to be processed,the data are temporarily preserved in the hard disk 23.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of the statistical analyzing sequence bythe statistical analyzing means 24, and shows the statistical analyzingsequence relating to the contour among the facial components 22 c.

When the facial picture 22 a is inputted to the statistical analyzingmeans 24 (S. 11), the extracting means 24 a extracts the facial contourby a picture recognition program (S. 12). The statistical analyzingmeans 24 performs the statistical analysis by comparing successively thecontour extracted from the facial picture 22 a with a determiningreference regarding round face, angled face and narrow face which thestatistical analyzing means 24 itself has.

Namely, the inputted facial picture 22 a is compared with the round facedetermining reference (S. 13), and if the facial picture is suitable forthe reference, the facial picture 22 a is determined as the round face(S. 14). If the facial picture is not determined as the round face, thefacial picture 22 a is then compared with the angled face determiningreference (S. 15), and if the facial picture is suitable for thereference, the facial picture 22 a is determined as the angled face (S.16). If the facial picture is not determined as the angled face, thefacial picture 22 a is then compared with the narrow face determiningreference (S. 17), and if the facial picture is suitable for thereference, the facial picture 22 a is determined as the narrow face (S.18). If the facial picture is not determined as the narrow face, thefacial picture is determined as the others (S. 19). As such, thestatistical analyzing means 24 statistically analyzes the contour amongthe components 22 c of the inputted facial picture 22 a, and classifiesthat into any type. The statistical analyzing means 24 performs suchstatistical analysis whenever the facial picture 22 a is newly inputted.

FIG. 5 is a concept view showing the association concept of thecomponent 22 c of the facial picture 22 a with the selected eyeglassframe 14 by the statistical analyzing means 24. As shown in FIG. 5, thestatistical analyzing means 24 determines and classifies the personalfacial type with respect to not only the contour but also each of thefacial components, namely, hair, eyebrows, eyes, nose and mouth. Here,for example, a facial picture of a man A as the person is determined andclassified every facial component in this manner that the hair is short,the contour is an angled face, the eyebrows are thin, the eyes arenarrow, the nose is a hooked nose and the mouth is large, and if theeyeglass frame which the man A selects was the frame numbers 3 and 12,the eyeglass frames of the frame numbers 3 and 12 are associated withthe type of every facial component of the short hair, the angled facecontour, the thin eyebrows, the narrow eyes, the hooked nose, and thelarge mouth.

On the other hand, a facial picture of a woman B as another person isdetermined and classified every facial component in this manner that thehair is semi-long, the contour is an narrow face, the eyebrows are thin,the eyes are round, the nose is high and the mouth is small, and if thewoman B selects the eyeglass frames of the frame numbers 25, 28, 12, theeyeglass frames of the frame numbers 25, 28, and 12 are associated withthe type of every facial component of the semi-long hair, the narrowface contour, the thin eyebrows, the round eyes, the high nose, and thesmall mouth.

Here, any of the man A and the <>woman B selects the eyeglass frame ofthe frame number 12. Also, when the facial component of the man A arecompared with those of the woman B, the eyebrows of the both aredetermined as thin eyebrows, and the both are common to that point.Thereby, the statistical analyzing means 24 determines that “a personhaving thin eyebrows likes the eyeglass frame of the frame number 12”.The more associated information is, the higher associating accuracy is.

As such, the personal facial component 22 c and the selected eyeglassframe 14 are statistically analyzed by the statistical analyzing means24, and the type of every facial component is associated with theselected eyeglass frame to construct the database, for example, as shownin FIG. 6, a frequency distribution display can be obtained as anexample of the statistical display method for associating the facialcomponent with the taste for eyeglass frame. By displaying the frequencydistribution on the screen, the relationship between the type of everyfacial component and the eyeglass frame can be grasped in a moment.

Also, for example, the type of eyeglass frame which are preferred eachage group, sex, race, etc. may be grasped by statistical analysis andclassification based on not the facial component 22 c but the personalinformation 22 b such as the transmitted age, sex, race, etc.

In case where the relationship between the facial component 22 c and theeyeglass frame 14 is displayed by the statistical display method, thefacial component 22 c is associated with the eyeglass frame 14 by themanual input using the keyboard, the mouse and the like, and therelationship may be inputted to the eyeglass database server 21 as thememory means. Though the relationship is not displayed by thestatistical display method, the statistical analyzing means 24 canautomatically analyze that. For example, the statistical analyzing means24 is provided with a determining program for automatically determiningthe eyeglass frame of which the selected frequency is high, and the typeof every facial component may be associated with the eyeglass frame.

The eyeglass frame 14 associated with the facial component 22 c may beevery component of the eyeglass frame subdivided into not the eyeglassframe number but for example, shape, color, material, maker name,designer name, etc. Also, in case where the amount of data to beprocessed is too much when the eyeglass frame is associated with thetype of every personal facial component, the eyeglass frame isassociated with only personal characteristic component among the facialcomponents 22 c, thereby the amount of processed data can be reduced,and the time for processing the data can be shortened.

Also, as shown in FIG. 7, in case where the person accessing thehomepage of the optician selects a plurality of eyeglass frames, bycounting the time for selecting each of the eyeglass frames, it can bedetermined how much the person likes the eyeglass frame, and thepreference degree for the selected eyeglass frame can be easily andquantitatively grasped (refer to S. 38-S. 44 among S. 31-S. 44).

In the flow chart shown in FIG. 7, when the person accesses the homepageof the optician (S. 31), inputs the facial picture (S. 32), and agreesto the picture synthesis (S. 33), the screen is changed to allow thepersonal information such as address, name, age, password, telephonenumber, sex, race and the like to be inputted (S. 34). When the input ofthe personal information is finished (S. 35) and the transmission of thefacial picture and personal information is finished, the screen ischanged again and the selective screen of the eyeglass frame isdisplayed. Here, when the person selects the eyeglass frame (S. 37), thecount of the time for selecting the selected eyeglass frame starts (S.38), the picture synthesis is performed (S. 39), the person inputs thepassword (S. 40) so that the synthesized picture of the selectedeyeglass frame and the facial picture is displayed (S. 41). When theperson confirms the synthesized picture, and then, selects the nexteyeglass frame (S. 42), the count of the time for selecting thepreviously selected eyeglass frame is finished, and simultaneously, thecount of the time for selecting the next selected eyeglass frame starts(S. 43). The difference between the count starting time of the nextselected eyeglass frame and the count starting time of the previouslyselected eyeglass frame is operated and calculated, and is set to thetime for selecting the previously selected eyeglass frame. When theperson inputs the password again (S. 40), the synthesized picture of thenext selected eyeglass frame and the facial picture is displayed (S.41), and the person judges to select the eyeglass frame (S. 42).

As mentioned above, by repeating the selection of the plurality ofeyeglass frames, the time for selecting the selected eyeglass frames canbe calculated, respectively, and when the selecting time becomes longer,it can be judged that the person likes the eyeglass frame much more.

Also, in case where the person accessing the homepage of the opticianselects a plurality of eyeglass frames, by managing a selecting orderand selecting history of the selected eyeglass frames, for example, whenthe person selects an eyeglass frame different from the previouslyselected eyeglass frame and then selects the same as the previouslyselected eyeglass frame again, it can be considered that the personlikes the previous eyeglass frame which was selected several times, andthe preference degree for the selected eyeglass frame can be grasped.

Also, in the present invention, the selected eyeglass frame 14 was wornto a personal facial picture 15, but as shown in FIG. 8, when the personaccesses the homepage of the optician 7 and selects the fitting cornerof the eyeglass frame 14, a facial picture 16 and a hairstyle 17 of amodel together with the plurality of eyeglass frames 14 are displayed on15 the monitor screen 2A, the eyeglass frame 14, the facial picture 16and the hairstyle 17 of the model are successively selected, and theselected eyeglass frame 14, the facial picture 16 and the hairstyle 17of the model may be displayed on the monitor screen 2A when displayingthe synthesis.

Here, if the facial picture in which the facial characteristic portionis emphasized is prepared as a model's facial picture, it is preferablethat the facial characteristic portion and aesthetic harmonyrelationship between the facial characteristic portion and the eyeglassframe can be automatically collected. In this case, if well-matched orill-matched is selected by a radio button on the screen which themodel's facial picture is synthesized with the selected eyeglass frame,reliability of the collected aesthetic harmony relationship is improved.

Since the person accesses the homepage of the optician using thepersonal computer 1 at his/her own home to perform the above-mentioneddatabase construction for eyeglasses, a large amount of personalinformation can be automatically obtained without being limited to thecustomer to visit the optician, and since the association by thestatistical analysis or the data preservation can be near automaticallyperformed, the database for eyeglasses can be effectively constructedwithout trouble.

In the first embodiment, the database constructing system for eyeglassesis described, but in the homepage which the personal goods to wear orcarry store such as handbag, shoes, accessories such as necklace, cap,etc. opens, if a facial picture, a half-length picture, or a whole bodypicture of a person is transmitted and the desired personal goods towear or carry are selected, it is also possible to automaticallyconstruct the database for the personal goods to wear or carry.

According to the first embodiment, the information from a large numberof persons can be automatically collected without being limited to thecustomer to visit the store, and the database can be constructed byassociating the personal goods to wear or carry that the person likeswith the personal characteristics. Particularly, in the optician, sincethe type of eyeglass frame that the person likes is almost automaticallyassociated and classified every personal facial component, the personalfacial type and the eyeglass frame trend that the person likes can beeasily grasped, and a large amount of eyeglass database can beautomatically and effectively constructed.

Second Embodiment

Here, the web server 11 comprises an extracting means for extracting thecomponent from the customer's facial picture and a selecting means. Theextracting means of the statistical analyzing means 24 may be used asthe extracting means. As the customer's facial picture, the facialpicture obtained by photographing the face of the customer to visit theoptician by the television camera 12 may be used or his/her own facialpicture transmitted when the customer orders the eyeglass frame on theeyeglass frame order screen at his/her own home may be used.

In case of the customer to visit the optician 7, as shown at S. 1X inFIG. 9, after the facial picture is photographed using the televisioncamera 12, a decision button of a keyboard 11A is handled or a mouse 11Bis clicked so that extraction of facial component may be performed(refer to S. 2X). When the facial component is extracted, the selectingmeans accesses a memory means 21, determines the facial component bytype, and selects the associated eyeglass frame (refer to S. 3X). Theweb server 11 functions as a showing means, and shows the selectedeyeglass frame on a screen 11 c (refer to S. 4X). The customer specifiesa favorite eyeglass frame among the selected plurality of eyeglassframes on the screen 11 c (refer to S. 5X). If so, the eyeglass frame issynthesized with his/her own facial picture so that the synthesizedpicture is displayed on the screen 11 c (refer to S. 6X).

With repeating the above-mentioned operations (refer to S. 4X-S. 7X),when an order button is clicked on the screen 11 c (refer to S. 8X) incase where there is a really favorite eyeglass frame, an order sheet forthe eyeglass frame is transmitted to the eyeglass frame maker 13 aselectronic data (refer to S. 9X). Simultaneously, the eyeglass frame isassociated with the type of the facial component to be memorized in thememory means 21 so that richness of the associated information isaccomplished.

In case where the customer orders the eyeglass frame at his/her ownhome, as shown at S. 1Y in FIG. 10, the facial picture is transmitted,and simultaneously, the extracting means of the web server 11 extractsautomatically the facial component transmitted (refer to S. 2Y), andtransmits the facial component to the selecting means (refer to S. 3Y).The selecting means accesses the memory means 21, selects the eyeglassframe 14 associated with the facial component (refer to S. 4Y), andtransmits the selected plurality of eyeglass frames 14 to the personalcomputer 1 through the web server 11 (refer to S. 5Y).

The customer specifies the favorite eyeglass frame among the pluralityof eyeglass frames 14 displayed on the screen 2A, as shown in FIG. 11(refer to S. 6Y). When the eyeglass frame is specified, the web server11 synthesizes the specified eyeglass frame with the customer's facialpicture, and transmits the synthesized picture to the customer (refer toS. 7Y, S. 8Y).

The customer judges whether the eyeglass frame is suitable or not by asynthesized picture 26, as shown in FIG. 12, and in case where theeyeglass frame is not suitable, the customer repeats the specifyingoperation several times (refer to S. 9Y), and in case where the eyeglassframe specified finally is suitable, the customer orders the favoriteeyeglass frame (refer to S. 10Y).

According to the second embodiment, since the service that an eyeglassframe is not selected among a plurality of eyeglass frames 14 shown inthe showcase of the optician 7, but the plurality of eyeglass frameswhich seem to be preferred or suitable are selected and shown and theeyeglass frame is specified among the shown eyeglass frames isperformed, it is convenient for a customer to select the eyeglass framewithout hesitation and to save trouble for searching a favorite eyeglassframe.

Also, though the optician 7 does not receive the customer as counterselling, since the customer can calmly select the eyeglass frame 14until he/she finds the favorite eyeglass frame, reception for thecustomer can be performed without damaging the service for the customerso that the service is further improved.

Also, when a new eyeglass frame 14 is obtained, with respect to thecustomer whose facial picture is registered, if the eyeglass frameassociated with the characteristic information on the customer's face issynthesized with the facial picture and the facial picture synthesizedwith the eyeglass frame is attached to an electronic mail to betransmitted to the customer, the customer's purchase desire is improved.

Namely, the newly obtained eyeglass frame 14 is divided to the componentsuch as shape, size, material, color, etc., the customer's facialpicture associated with the component is extracted, and the newlyobtained eyeglass frame can be guided to only the customers associatedwith the eyeglass frame 14 by the electronic mail, and thus,advertisement effect having high purchase certainty can be expected.

Here, the aesthetic harmony relationship between the facialcharacteristic portion and the eyeglass frame is automaticallycollected, but the aesthetic harmony relationship between the facialcharacteristic portion and the eyeglass frame is scientificallyanalyzed, and the association of the facial characteristic portion andthe eyeglass frame may be preserved.

For example, as a facial shape, there are an narrow face, a large face,a narrow forehead, a broad forehead and the like, and in case where thefacial shapes are classified into four types of contours such as round,triangle, quadrangle and narrow, it is said that a round eyeglass frameand a smallish eyeglass frame emphasizes round face and a thick eyeglassframe having angled line is preferred in view of the aesthetic harmonyrelationship. Also, in case of a person having a triangle face, a largeand heavy eyeglass frame emphasizes a thin jaw line, and an angledeyeglass frame or an eyeglass frame largely widen toward the outside isnot preferred in view of the aesthetic harmony relationship, and aroundish eyeglass frame is preferred. Also, since a person having aquadrilateral face gives hard image, an angled eyeglass frame, a heavyeyeglass frame or a narrow and small eyeglass frame makes the face looklike larger face, and thus, those are not preferred, and somewhat largeroundish eyeglass frame is preferred. Any type of eyeglass frame suits aperson having an narrow face.

Also, various kinds of relationships such as relationship between theeyeglass frame size and the location of eyes, distance between theeyebrows and the eyeglass frame, and aesthetic harmony relationshipbetween the eyebrows and the eyeglass frame shape are scientificallyanalyzed. And, if there is provided the composition that therelationship between the characteristic portion among the facialcomponents and the eyeglass frame is artificially determined from ascientific point of view to perform the association, and thecharacteristic portion is extracted from the personal facial picturetransmitted through the Internet, and the eyeglass frame associated withthe characteristic portion is selected and the plurality of eyeglassframes which seem to be suitable are shown, troubles can be much moresaved than that the customer searches an eyeglass frame which suitshimself/herself among a plurality of eyeglass frames.

Also, since the eyeglass frames which are selected and shown are theeyeglass frames having high certainty for suiting the person, servicecan be further improved much more.

As described above, in the second embodiment, the facial characteristicsis used for meaning one of the facial components, for example, in caseof nose, “a nose is high”, etc., but in case of facial characteristics,combination of the facial component, for example, “contour is an narrowface, eyebrows are narrow, eyes are round, a nose is high, and a mouthis small” is also included.

According to the second embodiment, the eyeglass frame which seems tosuit the customer or the eyeglass frame which the customer seems to likecan be automatically picked up to be shown to the customer.

As such, the present embodiment was described, but there may be providedthe composition that information on eyeglass frame and items forinputting facial characteristic portion are shown to a web server, datafor associating the characteristic portion with the selected eyeglassframe is collected by data based on the input items of the facialcharacteristic portion transmitted to the web server by using a webbrowser and information on eyeglass frame selected by a person, therelationship between the facial characteristics and the selectedeyeglass frame is analyzed statistically by a statistical analyzingmeans, and the facial characteristics is associated with the selectedeyeglass frame to be preserved. Also, in order to extracting a selectivetrend by the personal characteristics, that is, an occupation (a sales,a engineer, an office work, a driver, a housewife, a woman officeworker), age (generation), or sex, or a trend according to difference ofa personal taste, lifestyle and the like as well as the facialcharacteristics, a check box may be prepared to be inputted.

Initially, this system predicts and registers in advance the frameswhich seem to be preferred, and shows various kinds of candidates to auser, but as users are increased, suggesting system of recommendation isimproved.

As the personal goods to wear or carry to be associated, there areornaments such as eyeglasses, ring and necklace, clothes, shoes, bag,etc.

Third Embodiment

In FIG. 13, 101 is a personal computer (terminal) which a personpossesses, 102 is a monitor, 103 is a keyboard, and 104 is a mouse. Thepersonal computer 101 is connected to the Internet 106 through aprovider 105.

Also, 107 is an optician, the optician 107 is provided with a customermanaging database server 108, a facial picture information databaseserver 109, an eyeglass lens database server 109′, an eyeglass frameinformation database server (an eyeglass frame data memory means) 110,an eye test data database server (an eye test data memory means) 110′, aweb server 111, and a television camera 112. Each of the servers108-109, 109′, 110, 110′, 111 is connected by LAN, and the televisioncamera 112 is connected to the facial picture information databaseserver 109. The web server 111 has a selecting means for selecting aneyeglass frame, a selecting means for selecting an eyeglass lens, and apicture synthesizing means for synthesizing the selected eyeglass framewith a facial picture.

The web server 111 is connected to the Internet 106. At the optician107, an eyeglass frame information is provided from an eyeglass framemanufacturing maker 113 through the Internet 106, and the eyeglass frameinformation is successively preserved in the eyeglass frame informationdatabase server 110 of the optician 107.

The optician 107 opens a homepage. On a menu screen of the homepage, forexample, an eye test service selecting screen button, an eyeglass framewearing screen button and other screen selecting buttons are displayed,and the explanations thereof are displayed, as shown in FIG. 18.

When a person accesses the homepage of the optician 107 to press theeyeglass frame wearing button by using a web browser of the personalcomputer 101, an eyeglass frame fitting corner in the homepage of “XXoptician” is displayed on a screen 102A of an monitor 102, for example,as shown in FIG. 14(a), and when a selective screen for an eyeglassframe 114 is specified, the screen is changed, and a plurality ofeyeglass frames 114 are displayed on the monitor screen 102A.

On the monitor screen 102A, it is inquired whether a picturesynthesizing program for synthesizing the eyeglass frame 114 with afacial picture is needed or not, and in case where the picturesynthesizing program is needed, the picture synthesizing program isdownloaded.

The person inputs his/her own facial picture to allow a facial picture115 to be displayed on the monitor screen 102A, as shown in FIG. 14(b),specifies two points Y1, Y1 on the screen, and inputs an actual distancebetween the two points Y1, Y1 through the keyboard 103. Next, when theeyeglass frame 114 is selected and the synthesizing button is handled, aphotographing magnification of the facial picture for the eyeglass frame114 is adjusted by an operating means, and the facial picture 115wearing the selected eyeglass frame 114 is synthesized and displayed onthe monitor screen 102A, as shown in FIG. 14(c).

Also, the selected eyeglass frame 114 is worn to the personal facialpicture 115, but as shown in FIG. 15, when the person accesses thehomepage of the optician 107 and selects the fitting corner of theeyeglass frame 114 and a facial picture 116 and a hairstyle 117 of amodel together with a plurality of eyeglass frames 114 are displayed onthe monitor screen 102A, and the person selects successively theeyeglass frame 114 and the facial picture 116 and the hairstyle 117 ofthe model and instructs the synthesis, the facial pictures of theselected eyeglass frame 114 and the facial picture 116 and the hairstyle117 of the model are displayed on the monitor screen 102A.

In addition, the optician 107 is connected with an eye test serviceapparatus 121 provided at an eye test service equipment 120 through theInternet 106, as shown in FIG. 13. Here, the eye test service equipment120 is, for example, the equipment provided at a station yard, a restroom of a supermarket, a convenience store, a waiting room of ahospital, a waiting room of an optician, a waiting room of a publicfacilities, a lounge, a lobby of a bank and the like.

The eye test equipment 120 adopts the equipment provided, for example,at a waiting room of a large-scale private hospital. FIG. 16 is aperspective view showing the scene of the waiting room, the eye testservice equipment 120 is provided at a corner of the waiting room, andthe eye test service equipment 120 is provided with a table 123 and achair 124 for installing the eye test service apparatus 121.

Here, as the eye test service apparatus 121, autorefractometer or lensmeter for performing the eye test for subjective and objective purposeis provided.

In an upper part of the eye test service apparatus 121, a photographingcamera 125 is integrally attached, and on a front surface thereof, ahuman body detecting sensor 125′ is provided. The eye test serviceequipment 121 automatically returns from a power saving mode to a powermode when a user sits down on the chair 124.

The photographing camera 125 is, for example, a wide angle camera, andphotographs the facial picture of a service user for using the eye testservice apparatus 121 sitting down on the chair 124.

Right next to the eye test service apparatus 121, a handling joystick126 and a handling touch panel 127 are provided. The user puts his/herjaw on a jaw support (not shown) of the eye test service apparatus 121,puts his/her forehead to a forehead band (not shown) to fix his/herface, and handles the handling joystick 126 or the handling touch panel127 to fix a location of eyes himself/herself.

As shown in FIG. 17, an anterior eye part image 128 of an objective eyeis shown on the screen 121A of the eye test service apparatus 121, andas shown in FIG. 17, when a center 130A of a pupil 130 is beyond therange of an alignment allowable mark 129, the handling joystick 126 orthe handling touch panel 127 is handled such that the center 130A of thepupil is within the range of the alignment allowable mark 129. Thereby,the rough alignment for aligning the objective eye to an optical axis ofthe apparatus body is completed.

In case of a user poor at the handling, a service man at a separateplace may guide and handle the rough alignment if necessary.

For example, in case where the eye test service equipment 120 isprovided at the waiting room of the optician 107, a monitor room (notshown) is connected with the eye test service equipment 120 by LAN, andthe anterior eye part image 128 is transmitted to a monitor in themonitor room, and in case where it takes a user a long time to handlethe rough alignment, if a handling direction of the eye test serviceapparatus 121 which a user performing the handling uses is announcedfrom the monitor room or an indicating message of the handling directionis displayed on the screen 121A, the time required for handling therough alignment can be shortened.

When the rough alignment of the objective eye is completed, the eye testservice apparatus 121 performs automatically the alignment of opticalaxis of the apparatus for the objective eye, and the eye refractivepower of the objective eye is measured in the known sequence, and anobjective eye test data is obtained. Also, a subjective eye test data isobtained in the known sequence.

As shown in FIG. 13, the eye test service apparatus 121 is provided witha print apparatus 131 as an issue apparatus, and when the handlingjoystick 126 or the handling touch panel 127 is handled and themeasurement end is performed after these eye test data are measured, theeye test data, a user ID and a user password are printed out by theprint apparatus 131. Simultaneously, the user's facial picture 115, theeye test data, the user ID, and the user password are transmitted to theneighboring optician 107 through the Internet 106. The facial pictureand the user password are preserved in the facial picture informationdatabase server 109, and the eye test data and the user ID are preservedin the eye test data database server 110′.

Here, the issue of the user ID and the user password is based on thenext reason.

Namely, the eye test service system can be constructed such that theselection of the eyeglass lens and the eyeglass frame are performed atthe eye test service corner, however, since the selection of theeyeglass lens and the eyeglass frame are arbitrary, it is decided by aplurality of trials, and it takes a long time to make a decision, andthus, if the selection is performed at the eye test service equipment120, the waiting time becomes long, and the using efficiency of the eyetest service equipment 120 is lowered.

Here, the user's facial picture is called out only by using the userpassword, and since there is provided the composition that the ownfacial picture is called out only by using the user password, otherperson cannot indiscriminately call out and peep the user's facialpicture, and the user's privacy can be secured. Also, if the systemmanager side cannot see the service user's facial picture due to thepassword lock, the privacy is further secured.

Here, the user ID and the user password are issued together with themeasurement end, but with inputting the user's mail address, the user IDand the user password may be issued. The mail address is preserved inthe customer managing database server 108 of the optician 107, and isprovided to use of a direct electronic mail issue.

Also, the user ID and the user password were issued and transmitted tothe optician 107 together with the facial picture and the eye test data,but with inputting the mail address of the personal computer 101 whichthe user possesses, the facial picture data may be transmitted as anattached file to the personal computer 101 at his/her home by thetransmitting means.

In this manner, since the facial picture is not transmitted to theoptician 107, the user's privacy is further secured.

The user brings the printed user ID and user password to his/her home,and operates the personal computer 101 at his/her home to access thehomepage of the optician 107.

Then, the menu screen of the homepage of the optician 107 is displayedon the screen of the monitor 102, as shown in FIG. 18. When pressing theeye test service selecting screen button on the menu screen, the screenis changed, and an eye test service selecting screen 140 is displayed asshown in FIG. 19.

On the eye test service selecting screen, each of inputting boxes of,for example, “user ID”, “user password”, “name”, “address”, “telephonenumber”, “birthday”, “sex”, “the number of years for using eyeglasses”,and “using existence of contact lenses” and the decision buttons aredisplayed. Also, “name”, “address”, “telephone number”, “birthday”,“sex”, “the number of years for using eyeglasses”, and “using existenceof contact lenses” are inputted when using the eye test serviceapparatus 121, and these data may be preserved in the customer managingdatabase server 108 of the optician 107.

When the user inputs the necessary items in each of the input boxes andpresses the decision button, these data are transmitted to the webserver 111 of the optician 107, and the web server 111 accesses the eyetest data information database 110′ and shows the facial picture and theeye test data corresponding to the “user ID” and “user password” on thescreen 102A of the monitor 102, as shown in FIG. 20, and simultaneously,displays the eyeglass lens selecting button and the eyeglass frameselecting button.

When pressing the eyeglass lens selecting button, as shown in FIG. 21, aplurality of eyeglass lenses are shown on the screen 102A of the monitor102 according to the eye test data. The user selects and specifies thefavorite eyeglass lens among the plurality of eyeglass lenses.

Subsequently, when pressing the eyeglass frame selecting button, aplurality of eyeglass frames to which the selected eyeglass lens can beinserted are shown on the screen 102A of the monitor 102, andsimultaneously, the picture synthesizing button is displayed, as shownin FIG. 22. The service user specifies the favorite eyeglass frame amongthe plurality of eyeglass frames.

Subsequently, when pressing the picture synthesizing button, as shown inFIG. 23, the selected eyeglass frame 114 is synthesized with the facialpicture 115, and the synthesized picture is shown on the screen 102A ofthe monitor 102.

In case where the selected eyeglass frame 114 is not suitable, theselection and synthesis of the eyeglass frame 114 are repeated. In casewhere the user wants to order the favorite eyeglass frame, when pressingthe order button, an order sheet data for the eyeglass frame andeyeglass lens is issued.

In case where the user does not want to order the eyeglass frame, theuser presses a clear button to return to the menu screen or stops theconnection.

Also, here, because the facial picture photographed by the photographingcamera 125 is synthesized and displayed, the magnification relationshipbetween the eyeglass frame and the facial picture is previously known,and accordingly, it is unnecessary for the service user to adjust thephotographing magnification for the eyeglass frame 114.

As described above, in the embodiment of the present invention, there isprovided the composition that the database system is provided at theoptician 107, but there may be provided the composition that only webserver is provided at the optician, and the database servers 108, 109,109′ 110, 110′ are provided at the place other than the optician 107,for example, a data center.

Also, there may be provided the composition that the web server 111 isprovided at the data center, only terminal is provided at the optician107 and the terminal allows access to the database server.

In FIG. 13, only one eyeglass frame manufacturing maker 113 is shown,but the eyeglass frame manufacturing maker 113 is not limited to onecompany, and there may be provided the composition that the optician 107receives the eyeglass frame data from the plurality of eyeglass framemanufacturing makers 113, and there may be provided the composition thatthe database server is provided at the eyeglass frame manufacturingmaker 113 and the eyeglass frame data is called out by access to thedatabase server if necessary.

Also, in the embodiment, the eye test service apparatus 121 issues theuser ID and the user password, but the user ID and the user password maybe issued from the optician 107 side or the data center side.

In this case, the user ID or the user ID and user password may betransmitted to the electronic mail address which the service userspecifies.

According to the third embodiment, the selection of the eyeglass framecan be performed until the user finds the favorite eyeglass framewithout causing trouble to the eye test service itself, and even in caseof using the eye test service equipment, the personal privacy can beprotected.

1. An eye test service system, comprising: an eye test service apparatusfor obtaining eye test data of an objective eye of a service user,connected to a database system through a communication line and providedat an eye test service equipment, the database system comprising an eyetest data memorizing unit configured to memorize eye test data and aneyeglass frame memory unit for memorizing eyeglass frame informationdata; an issue apparatus provided at the eye test service apparatus orsaid database system for issuing a user ID for specifying said user anda user password for calling out a photographed facial picture; and a webserver capable of showing said eye test data, and superimposing aselected facial picture with a selected eyeglass frame when said serviceuser inputs said user ID and a password by using a terminal to accesssaid database system.
 2. The eye test service system according to claim1, wherein said database system comprises an eyeglass frame data memorymeans, and said web server comprises a selecting means for selecting aneyeglass frame, and a picture superimposing means for superimposing theselected eyeglass frame with a facial picture.
 3. The eye test servicesystem according to claim 2, wherein said issue apparatus issues saiduser ID and said user password on the basis of an input of an electronicmail address of said service user.
 4. An eye test service system,comprising an eye test service apparatus comprising a photographingcamera which photographs a facial picture of a user of an eye testservice, said eye test service apparatus being adapted to obtain eyetest data of an objective eye of the service user, being connected to adatabase system through a communication line, and being provided at aneye test service equipment, wherein an issue apparatus for issuing auser ID for specifying said user and a transmitting means fortransmitting said facial picture to a terminal of said service user isprovided at the eye test service apparatus or said database system, saiddatabase system comprises an eye test data memory means for preservingsaid eye test data, and a web server comprising an eyeglass frameshowing means for showing an eyeglass frame when said service userinputs said user ID by using said terminal to access said databasesystem, and said terminal comprises a picture synthesizing means forsynthesizing a selected eyeglass frame with said facial picture todisplay a synthesized picture.
 5. The eye test service system accordingto claim 4, wherein said transmitting means transmits said facialpicture to said terminal on the basis of an input of an electronic mailaddress.
 6. An eye test service system, comprising an eye test serviceapparatus or database system comprising a photographing camera whichphotographs a facial picture of a user of an eye test service; and acommunication line for communicating the facial picture to a terminalapparatus of the eye test service user; wherein said database systemcomprises a memory means for preserving information on said facialpicture, and a web server for showing said facial picture when saidservice user accesses said database system.